


Christmas Comes to Town

by myglassesaredirty



Series: Christmas is the Best [1]
Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Drabble, F/M, Gift Fic, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21939253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myglassesaredirty/pseuds/myglassesaredirty
Summary: Hawkeye expects to spend the holidays alone.
Relationships: Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan/Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
Series: Christmas is the Best [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579771
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Christmas Comes to Town

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Howlingdawn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Howlingdawn/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, Dawn!!

The war had ruined damn near everything. He didn’t tend to dwell on the bad things from Korea because, if he did, he would be thinking for days on end, and he would have to check back into the psychiatric hospital.

What was worse was that his father had passed away about two years ago, and even before then, he had been sick. Hawkeye hadn’t been able to do much, only make his father comfortable, and Dad always made the best of Christmas season.

So this year, Hawkeye stands with boxes of Christmas ornaments and decorations and a lack of presents, and he rubs the back of his neck in defeat. He’s about to pack everything away and find a nice little bar for Christmas when someone knocks on the door, and he lifts his head in surprise. Three years in Korea taught him who knocks exactly like that.

He nearly trips over a few boxes on his way to the front door, but when he opens it, Margaret Houlihan has her hands on her hips and something reminiscent of a smirk on her lips.

“Hot Lips Houlihan,” Hawkeye says, gently gripping her elbow and pulling her inside before the Maine winter can catch up with her. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Margaret rubs her hands together in order to stimulate warmth and looks around the living room. “To think, I’ve known you all these years and we’ve exchanged letters all these years, and I still haven’t been invited.”

Hawkeye rolls his eyes and pushes a few boxes aside. “What brings you here?”

She presses her lips together and reaches out, touching his arm with her hand. “I felt bad that I wasn’t able to come when your dad died. I tried to get time off for Christmas, and this was the first year I was able to.” She claps her hands together and looks around, slowly unraveling her scarf. “And it looks like I came just in time, were you about to put these decorations away?”

“Margaret –”

She moves her hand from his arm to his hand and squeezes his fingers. “Let me help you, alright? Besides,” she says, gesturing to the pine tree leaning against the wall, “I can’t remember the last time I did this with someone.”

He furrows his brow and follows her, the same Hurricane Margaret, who rips open boxes and passes him the ornaments, telling him exactly where on the tree to hang them. “The last time you did what with somebody?”

Margaret straightens and pushes some flyaway hairs away from her face. “Christmas. I haven’t done Christmas since Korea, and I’m not entirely too sure Korea should count.”

He eventually leaves her to finish setting up the tree, after he did all the hard stuff, and he starts making hot chocolate. When he steps back into the living room, two mugs of hot cocoa in hand, she’s shaking her hair loose and studying the branches. It’s been years since he last saw that look of utter determination, the way her fingers steadied and her eyes narrowed and she looked like she was personally offended by the challenge that presented itself to her. It was the reason, he thinks, that he fell in love with her.

Hawkeye shakes his head, sets the hot chocolate on the coffee table, and collapses onto the sofa. “Margaret, come here.”

She turns around, her hair twirled around her index finger, and glances between him and the tree. “But –”

He nods. “The tree will still be there tomorrow, or even later tonight.”

Her smile softens and she kicks off her shoes and crawls onto the sofa next to him, curling into his side. He wraps one arm around her and pulls her closer, and she tucks her face into the crook of his neck.

“I missed you, you know,” she whispers, her breath fanning over his neck.

His free hand finds one of hers, and he squeezes it. “I know. I’d planned on visiting you for the past couple of years, but –”

Margaret lifts her head and gently kisses him. “I’m here now. Isn’t that what matters?”

Hawkeye smiles.  _ I love you, _ he wants to say.  _ Marry me, _ he wants to ask. Instead, he lifts her chin with his finger and presses another, softer kiss to her lips. “I’m glad you came.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment below or go to my tumblr, @ my-glasses-are-dirty, and tell me what you think!


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